It really is mind boggling to see all the Misbah-Waqar hate in the aftermath of a difficult series. So lets review some tough calls and some bitter pills for us fans to swallow. Stay with me now.
Naseem Shah - Was a spectacular failure on this tour. None of us expected this. We all wanted him to make this tour. And yes, we all thought he would do well on it. He failed, spectacularly. That failure is on him. You could argue the conditions didnt really suit him, that he is more swing-it-in-the-air type of bowler rather than hit-the-deck type which is what was needed on this tour. I dont know, either way the failure is his and his alone, he is not a baby who should be treated with kid gloves. You want to be a test cricketer you must perform, bottom line.
Now imagine what we had said if Naseem had not been picked for this tour, and we had mailed in the same performance. This is not a selection blunder, it is a performance blunder. And the responsibility is ours for over-hyping a kid who is clearly not ready for the trials of test match cricket.
Haris Sohail - Another failure and showed up unfit. None of us were calling for his head before the tour. If you were please speak up. He failed on tour, the failure was his and his alone.
Openers - Yet another failure but nothing new for Pakistan cricket. When was the last time we had a good test match opener? Saeed Anwar, thats about it. Even Imran couldnt find good openers he had to resort to Rambo. Seriously, would you pick Rambo over this lot? This is not a Misbha problem, this is a Pak cricket problem and solutions will be hard to come by.
Now lets take a quick peek at some of the things that went right...
Rizwan - Exactly the right pick and kudos to team management for sticking with him even when his domestic T20 side wasnt giving him games. He proved us all wrong, and he proved the team management right. He has shown that he can hang with the big boys and now its up to him to make a career out of this, not YK or Misbah, but him and him alone. If I needed to I can dig up many posts on this forum alone that will have asked for Rizwan to not be picked for this tour so lets own up a little and give up some credit. Pakistanis are supposed to have big hearts are we not?
Fawad Dropping Asaq Shafiq for Fawad was exactly the right call. This has been discussed many times over on many different forums and nobody in the past has had the guts to make this call. Its something we should have done at least 5 years ago, if not more. Mickey Arthur bears responsibility, so do a lot of other folks. But it was the right call and we should open up our big big hearts one more time and give a little credit, it is due here. Fawad now needs to go on and make the most of his opportunity. If he fails, its not YK's fault, its not Misbah's wet nurse's fault, its Fawad Alam's fault. Because the responsibility is his and his alone.
Azhar Ali - Many of us called for his removal before and during the NZ series. Some even called him geriatric (lol). in hindsight, keeping him in the team was the right call and we should appreciate it, maybe to a small degree, but it was the right call. How much more time he has, who really knows.
Fitness - This is a cultural sea change in Pakistan cricket and is exactly the right thing to do. Not picking over weight and unfit players is an extremely good sign for Pakistan cricket. Previous administrations have lacked the guts to make these tough calls but this management team has made them and are sticking to their guns. This is an amazingly good sign for Pak cricket and we need to stick with this, not back away from it.
Focus on test match cricket - This is another area where I give the current administration heaps and heaps of credit. Under previous regimes we were stuck with bits and pieces cricketers like Akmal bros, Shoaib Kushner and
. There is a real cultural shift going on in Pakistan cricket, I dont know who is responsible for it, but I am seeing players with heart, grit and determination being picked over flashy primadonnas and this is an amazing thing to see. We just need to build on this.
Look the team is not perfect and we will not beat the top 4 teams today. But we are making some good calls here, and this is not the time to reverse course. We always come down hard on team managements for not giving youngsters enough chances to prove themselves. Dont team managements deserve enough chances to prove themselves?
I know in pure Pakistani fashion you all are going to paint me as some Misbah sympathizer, trust me I am not. My heart broke just as yours did when he played that reverse sweep. And I was screaming and swearing just as loudly as you were in *that* world cup match. But we need to keep our jazba aside for a brief second and realize that Misbah was never a limited overs player. His brain fizzles any time you put too much pressure on the guy. He is a fairly simple individual who has somehow figured out the puzzle of Pakistani test match cricket. And we must give him a chance to build on some of these very good decisions that have been made. One more year guys, come on thats more than Mickey Arthur got and he was a terrible test match coach!
Naseem Shah - Was a spectacular failure on this tour. None of us expected this. We all wanted him to make this tour. And yes, we all thought he would do well on it. He failed, spectacularly. That failure is on him. You could argue the conditions didnt really suit him, that he is more swing-it-in-the-air type of bowler rather than hit-the-deck type which is what was needed on this tour. I dont know, either way the failure is his and his alone, he is not a baby who should be treated with kid gloves. You want to be a test cricketer you must perform, bottom line.
Now imagine what we had said if Naseem had not been picked for this tour, and we had mailed in the same performance. This is not a selection blunder, it is a performance blunder. And the responsibility is ours for over-hyping a kid who is clearly not ready for the trials of test match cricket.
Haris Sohail - Another failure and showed up unfit. None of us were calling for his head before the tour. If you were please speak up. He failed on tour, the failure was his and his alone.
Openers - Yet another failure but nothing new for Pakistan cricket. When was the last time we had a good test match opener? Saeed Anwar, thats about it. Even Imran couldnt find good openers he had to resort to Rambo. Seriously, would you pick Rambo over this lot? This is not a Misbha problem, this is a Pak cricket problem and solutions will be hard to come by.
Now lets take a quick peek at some of the things that went right...
Rizwan - Exactly the right pick and kudos to team management for sticking with him even when his domestic T20 side wasnt giving him games. He proved us all wrong, and he proved the team management right. He has shown that he can hang with the big boys and now its up to him to make a career out of this, not YK or Misbah, but him and him alone. If I needed to I can dig up many posts on this forum alone that will have asked for Rizwan to not be picked for this tour so lets own up a little and give up some credit. Pakistanis are supposed to have big hearts are we not?
Fawad Dropping Asaq Shafiq for Fawad was exactly the right call. This has been discussed many times over on many different forums and nobody in the past has had the guts to make this call. Its something we should have done at least 5 years ago, if not more. Mickey Arthur bears responsibility, so do a lot of other folks. But it was the right call and we should open up our big big hearts one more time and give a little credit, it is due here. Fawad now needs to go on and make the most of his opportunity. If he fails, its not YK's fault, its not Misbah's wet nurse's fault, its Fawad Alam's fault. Because the responsibility is his and his alone.
Azhar Ali - Many of us called for his removal before and during the NZ series. Some even called him geriatric (lol). in hindsight, keeping him in the team was the right call and we should appreciate it, maybe to a small degree, but it was the right call. How much more time he has, who really knows.
Fitness - This is a cultural sea change in Pakistan cricket and is exactly the right thing to do. Not picking over weight and unfit players is an extremely good sign for Pakistan cricket. Previous administrations have lacked the guts to make these tough calls but this management team has made them and are sticking to their guns. This is an amazingly good sign for Pak cricket and we need to stick with this, not back away from it.
Focus on test match cricket - This is another area where I give the current administration heaps and heaps of credit. Under previous regimes we were stuck with bits and pieces cricketers like Akmal bros, Shoaib Kushner and
. There is a real cultural shift going on in Pakistan cricket, I dont know who is responsible for it, but I am seeing players with heart, grit and determination being picked over flashy primadonnas and this is an amazing thing to see. We just need to build on this.Look the team is not perfect and we will not beat the top 4 teams today. But we are making some good calls here, and this is not the time to reverse course. We always come down hard on team managements for not giving youngsters enough chances to prove themselves. Dont team managements deserve enough chances to prove themselves?
I know in pure Pakistani fashion you all are going to paint me as some Misbah sympathizer, trust me I am not. My heart broke just as yours did when he played that reverse sweep. And I was screaming and swearing just as loudly as you were in *that* world cup match. But we need to keep our jazba aside for a brief second and realize that Misbah was never a limited overs player. His brain fizzles any time you put too much pressure on the guy. He is a fairly simple individual who has somehow figured out the puzzle of Pakistani test match cricket. And we must give him a chance to build on some of these very good decisions that have been made. One more year guys, come on thats more than Mickey Arthur got and he was a terrible test match coach!
